Paleo-Hebrew | |
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Script type | |
Time period | c. 1000 BCE – 135 CE |
Direction | Right-to-left script ![]() |
Language | Biblical Hebrew |
Related scripts | |
Parent systems | |
Child systems | |
Sister systems | |
ISO 15924 | |
ISO 15924 | Phnx(115), Phoenician |
Unicode | |
Unicode alias | Phoenician |
U+10900–U+1091F | |
This article containsphonetic transcriptions in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. For the distinction between[ ],/ / and ⟨ ⟩, seeIPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters. |
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ThePaleo-Hebrew script (Hebrew:הכתב העברי הקדום), alsoPalaeo-Hebrew,Proto-Hebrew orOld Hebrew, is the writing system found inCanaanite and Aramaic inscriptions, including pre-Biblical andBiblical Hebrew, from southernCanaan, also known as the biblical kingdoms ofIsrael (Samaria) andJudah. It is considered to be the script used to record the original texts of the Bible due to its similarity to theSamaritan script; theTalmud states that the Samaritans still used this script.[1] The Talmud described it as the "Livonaʾa script" (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic:לִיבּוֹנָאָה,romanized: Lībōnāʾā), translated by some as "Lebanon script".[1] However, it has also been suggested that the name is a corrupted form of "Neapolitan", i.e. ofNablus.[2] Use of the term "Paleo-Hebrew alphabet" is due to a 1954 suggestion bySolomon Birnbaum, who argued that "[t]o apply the termPhoenician [from Northern Canaan, today's Lebanon] to the script of theHebrews [from Southern Canaan, today's Israel-Palestine] is hardly suitable".[3] The Paleo-Hebrew and Phoenician alphabets are two slight regional variants of the same script.
The first Paleo-Hebrew inscription identified in modern times was theRoyal Steward inscription (KAI 191), found in 1870, and then referred to as "two large ancient Hebrew inscriptions in Phoenician letters".[4][5] Fewer than 2,000 inscriptions are known today, of which the vast majority comprise just a single letter or word.[6][7] The earliest known examples of Paleo-Hebrew writing date to the10th century BCE.[8][9][10]
Like thePhoenician alphabet, it is a slight regional variant and an immediate continuation of theProto-Canaanite script, which was used throughout Canaan in theLate Bronze Age.[11]Phoenician,Hebrew, and all of their sisterCanaanite languages were largely indistinguishable dialects before that time.[12][13] The Paleo-Hebrew script is anabjad of 22consonantal letters, exactly as the other Canaanite scripts from the period.
By the 5th century BCE, among Judeans the alphabet had been mostly replaced by theAramaic alphabet as used officially by theAchaemenid Empire. The "Square" variant now known simply as theHebrew alphabet evolved directly out of this by about the 3rd century BCE, although some letter shapes did not become standard until the1st century. By contrast, theSamaritan script is an immediate continuation of the Proto-Hebrew script without intermediate non-Israelite evolutionary stages. There is also some continued use of the old Hebrew script in Jewish religious contexts down to the 1st century BCE, notably in thePaleo-Hebrew Leviticus Scroll found in theDead Sea Scrolls.
The Paleo-Hebrew and Phoenician alphabets developed in the wake of theBronze Age collapse, out of their immediate predecessor scriptProto-Canaanite (LateProto-Sinaitic) during the 13th to 12th centuries BCE, and earlier Proto-Sinaitic scripts.
The earliest known inscription in the Paleo-Hebrew script is theZayit Stone discovered on a wall atTel Zayit, in the Beth Guvrin Valley in the lowlands of ancientJudea in 2005, about 50 km (31 mi) southwest of Jerusalem. The 22 letters were carved on one side of the 38 lb (17 kg) stone, which resembles a bowl on the other. The find is attributed to the mid-10th century BCE. The so-calledOphel inscription is of a similar age, but difficult to interpret, and may be classified as either Proto-Canaanite or as Paleo-Hebrew. TheGezer calendar is of uncertain date, but may also still date to the 10th century BCE.
The script on the Zayit Stone and Gezer Calendar are an earlier form than the classical Paleo-Hebrew of the 8th century and later; this early script is almost identical to the early Phoenician script on the 9th-centuryAhiram sarcophagus inscription. By the 8th century, a number of regional characteristics begin to separate the script into a number of national alphabets, including the Israelite (Israel and Judah), Moabite (Moab and Ammon), Edomite, Phoenician and Old Aramaic scripts.
Linguistic features of theMoabite language (rather than genericNorthwest Semitic) are visible in theMesha Stele inscription, commissioned around 840 BCE by King Mesha of Moab. Similarly, theTel Dan Stele, dated approximately 810 BCE, is written inOld Aramaic, dating from a period when Dan had already fallen into the orbit of Damascus.
The oldest inscriptions identifiable asBiblical Hebrew have long been limited to the 8th century BCE. In 2008, however, a potsherd (ostracon) bearing an inscription was excavated atKhirbet Qeiyafa which has since been interpreted as representing a recognizably Hebrew inscription dated to as early as the 10th century BCE. The argument identifying the text as Hebrew relies on the use of vocabulary.[14]
From the 8th century onward, Hebrew epigraphy becomes more common, showing the gradual spread of literacy among the people of theKingdom of Israel and theKingdom of Judah; theoldest portions of theHebrew Bible, although transmitted via therecension of the Second Temple period, are also dated to the 8th century BCE.
The Paleo-Hebrew alphabet was in common use in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah throughout the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. During the 6th century BCE, the time of theBabylonian exile, the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet was gradually replaced by the use of the ImperialAramaic alphabet. The letters ofImperial Aramaic were again given shapes characteristic for writing Hebrew during theSecond Temple period, developing into the "square shape" of theHebrew alphabet.[15]
TheSamaritans, who remained in the Land of Israel, continued to use their variant of the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, called theSamaritan script.[16] After the fall of the Persian Empire, Jews used both scripts before settling on the Assyrian form.
The Paleo-Hebrew script evolved by developing numerous cursive features, thelapidary features of the Phoenician alphabet being ever less pronounced with the passage of time. The aversion of the lapidary script may indicate that the custom of erecting stelae by the kings and offering votive inscriptions to the deity was not widespread in Israel. Even the engraved inscriptions from the 8th century exhibit elements of the cursive style, such as the shading, which is a natural feature of pen-and-ink writing. Examples of such inscriptions include theSiloam inscription,[17] numerous tomb inscriptions fromJerusalem,[18][19] theKetef Hinnom scrolls, a fragmentary Hebrew inscription on an ivory which was taken as war spoils (probably fromSamaria) toNimrud, theArad ostraca dating to the 6th-century BCE, the hundreds of 8th to 6th-century Hebrew seals from various sites, and thePaleo-Hebrew Leviticus scroll discovered nearTel Qumran. The most developed cursive script is found on the 18Lachish ostraca,[20] letters sent by an officer to the governor of Lachish just before the destruction of theFirst Temple in 586 BCE. A slightly earlier (circa 620 BCE) but similar script is found on anostracon excavated atMesad Hashavyahu, containing a petition for redress of grievances (an appeal by a field worker to the fortress's governor regarding the confiscation of his cloak, which the writer considers to have been unjust).[21][22]
After the Babylonian capture of Judea, when most of the nobles were taken into exile, the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet continued to be used by the people who remained. One example of such writings are the 6th-century BCE jar handles fromGibeon, on which the names of winegrowers are inscribed. Beginning from the 5th century BCE onward, the Aramaic language and script became an official means of communication. Paleo-Hebrew was still used by scribes and others.
The Paleo-Hebrew script was retained for some time as an archaizing or conservative mode of writing. It is found in certain texts of theTorah among theDead Sea Scrolls, dated to the 2nd to 1st centuries BCE: manuscripts 4Q12, 6Q1: Genesis. 4Q22: Exodus. 1Q3, 2Q5, 4Q11, 4Q45, 4Q46, 6Q2, and the Leviticus scroll (11QpaleoLev).[23] In someQumran documents, the tetragrammaton name of the Israelite deity,YHWH, is written in Paleo-Hebrew while the rest of the text is rendered in the adopted Aramaic square script that became today's normative Jewish Hebrew script.[24] The vast majority of theHasmonean coinage, as well as the coins of theFirst Jewish–Roman War andBar Kokhba's revolt, bears Paleo-Hebrew legends. The Paleo-Hebrew alphabet fell completely out of use among Jews only after 135 CE.
The paleo-Hebrew alphabet continued to be used by theSamaritans and over time developed into theSamaritan alphabet. The Samaritans have continued to use the script for writing both Hebrew and Aramaic texts until the present day. A comparison of the earliest Samaritan inscriptions and the medieval and modern Samaritan manuscripts clearly indicates that the Samaritan script is a static script which was used mainly as abook hand.
TheTalmudic sages did not share a uniform stance on the subject of Paleo-Hebrew. Some stated that Paleo-Hebrew was the original script used by the Israelites at the time of the Exodus,[1] whereas the Aramaic square script was brought from Assyria[25][26] and introduced for writingTorah scrolls in the post-exilic period,[27] while others believed that Paleo-Hebrew merely served as a stopgap in a time when the ostensibly original script (theAssyrian Script) was lost.[26][28][29] According to both opinions,Ezra the Scribe (c. 500 BCE) introduced, or reintroduced the Assyrian script to be used as the primary alphabet for theHebrew language.[1] The arguments given for both opinions are rooted in Jewish scripture and/or tradition.
A third opinion[25] in theTalmud states that the script never changed altogether. Rabbi Eleazar from Modiin, the sage who expressed this opinion, based his opinion on a scriptural verse,[30] which makes reference to the shape of the lettervav. He argues further that, given the commandment to copy a Torah scroll directly from another, the script could not conceivably have been modified at any point.[25] A different version of the debate in theJerusalem Talmud refers to the circular shapes of the lettersAyin in Paleo-Hebrew andSamekh in square script on the stone tablets as miracles according to the respective sages arguing for one script or the other.[26] This third opinion was accepted by some early Jewish scholars,[31] and rejected by others, partially because it was permitted to write the Torah in Greek.[32]
Use of Proto-Hebrew in modern Israel is negligible, but it is found occasionally in nostalgic or pseudo-archaic examples, e.g. on the₪1 coin (𐤉𐤄𐤃 "Judea")[33] and in the logo of the Israeli townNahariyah (Deuteronomy 33:24𐤁𐤓𐤅𐤊 𐤌𐤁𐤍𐤉𐤌 𐤀𐤔𐤓 "LetAsher be blessed with children").
In 2019, theIsrael Antiquities Authority (IAA) unearthed a 2,600-year-old seal impression, while conducting excavations at the City of David, containing Paleo-Hebrew script, and which is thought to have belonged to a certain "Nathan-Melech," an official inKing Josiah's court.[34]
Phoenician or Paleo-Hebrew characters were never standardised and are found in numerous variant shapes. A general tendency of more cursive writing can be observed over the period of c. 800 BCE to 600 BCE. After 500 BCE, it is common to distinguish the script variants by names such as "Samaritan", "Aramaic", etc.
There is no difference in "Paleo-Hebrew" vs. "Phoenician" letter shapes. The names are applied depending on the language of the inscription, or if that cannot be determined, of the coastal (Phoenician) vs. highland (Hebrew) association (c.f. theZayit Stone abecedary).
Letter | Name[35] | Meaning | Phoneme | Origin | Corresponding letter in | |||||||||
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Image | Text | Samaritan | Square | |||||||||||
![]() | 𐤀 | ʾālep | head of cattle (אלף) | ʾ[ʔ] | 𓃾 | ࠀ | א | |||||||
![]() | 𐤁 | bēt | house (בית) | b[b] | 𓉐 | ࠁ | ב | |||||||
![]() | 𐤂 | gīmel | camel (גמל) | g[ɡ] | 𓌙 | ࠂ | ג | |||||||
![]() | 𐤃 | dālet | door (דלת) | d[d] | 𓇯 | ࠃ | ד | |||||||
![]() | 𐤄 | hē | jubilation/window[36] | h[h] | 𓀠? | ࠄ | ה | |||||||
![]() | 𐤅 | wāw | hook (וו) | w[w] | 𓏲 | ࠅ | ו | |||||||
![]() | 𐤆 | zayin | weapon (זין) | z[z] | 𓏭 | ࠆ | ז | |||||||
![]() | 𐤇 | ḥēt(?) | courtyard/thread[36] | ḥ[ħ] | 𓉗/𓈈? | ࠇ | ח | |||||||
![]() | 𐤈 | ṭēt | wheel (?)[37] | ṭ[tˤ] | ? | ࠈ | ט | |||||||
![]() | 𐤉 | yōd | arm, hand (יד) | y[j] | 𓂝 | ࠉ | י | |||||||
![]() | 𐤊 | kāp | palm of a hand (כף) | k[k] | 𓂧 | ࠊ | כ, ך | |||||||
![]() | 𐤋 | lāmed | goad (למד)[38] | l[l] | 𓌅 | ࠋ | ל | |||||||
![]() | 𐤌 | mēm | water (מים) | m[m] | 𓈖 | ࠌ | מ, ם | |||||||
![]() | 𐤍 | nūn | fish (נון)[39] | n[n] | 𓆓 | ࠍ | נ, ן | |||||||
![]() | 𐤎 | sāmek | pillar, support (סמך)[40] | s[s] | 𓊽 | ࠎ | ס | |||||||
![]() | 𐤏 | ʿayin | eye (עין) | ʿ[ʕ] | 𓁹 | ࠏ | ע | |||||||
![]() | 𐤐 | pē | mouth (פה) | p[p] | 𓂋 | ࠐ | פ, ף | |||||||
![]() | 𐤑 | ṣādē | ?[41] | ṣ[sˤ] | ? | ࠑ | צ, ץ | |||||||
![]() | 𐤒 | qōp | ?[42] | q[q] | ? | ࠒ | ק | |||||||
![]() | 𐤓 | rēš | head (ראש) | r[r] | 𓁶 | ࠓ | ר | |||||||
![]() | 𐤔 | šīn | tooth (שין) | š[ʃ] | 𓌓 | ࠔ | ש | |||||||
![]() | 𐤕 | tāw | mark, sign (תו) | t[t] | 𓏴 | ࠕ | ת |
The Unicode block Phoenician (U+10900–U+1091F) is intended for the representation of, apart from thePhoenician alphabet, text in Palaeo-Hebrew, Archaic Phoenician, Early Aramaic, Late Phoenician cursive, Phoenician papyri, Siloam Hebrew, Hebrew seals,Ammonite,Moabite, andPunic.
Phoenician[1][2] Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF) | ||||||||||||||||
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | |
U+1090x | 𐤀 | 𐤁 | 𐤂 | 𐤃 | 𐤄 | 𐤅 | 𐤆 | 𐤇 | 𐤈 | 𐤉 | 𐤊 | 𐤋 | 𐤌 | 𐤍 | 𐤎 | 𐤏 |
U+1091x | 𐤐 | 𐤑 | 𐤒 | 𐤓 | 𐤔 | 𐤕 | 𐤖 | 𐤗 | 𐤘 | 𐤙 | 𐤚 | 𐤛 | 𐤟 | |||
Notes |
This sequel to my Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions includes mainly inscriptions (about 750 of them) which have been published in the past ten years. The aim has been to cover all publications to the end of 2000. A relatively small number of the texts included here were published earlier but were missed in the preparation of AHI. The large number of new texts is not due, for the most part, to fresh discoveries (or, regrettably, to the publication of a number of inscriptions that were found in excavations before 1990), but to the publication of items held in private collections and museums.
By 1000 B.C.E., however, we see Phoenician writings [..]
[...] scribes wrote in Paleo-Hebrew, a local variant of the Phoenician alphabetic script [...]